Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
Yes
Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Reserved Deluxe, given Superior Suite with Club
How are the rooms?
Large and modern. In some ways like other new IC's, but still rather unique. The bathroom area is open and takes up about a 3rd of the suite. And there is some wasted space on the other end where there is a large sitting area and space beyond that which you can only reach by walking over the sitting area. But still there is a lot of space to walk around. Lanvin amenities and a very nice Toto Japanese toilet with the full boat of features.
How is the exec. lounge?
Very large with lots of seating, which was evident as the lounge was very sparsely populated. There is a bar room off to the side that has beer, sparkling wine and lots of alcohol. Also a telescope to spy on folks from the 22nd floor.
There is a decent selection of wine which is served from a machine which is kind of weird and didn't work one night. The food was good and plentiful both at breakfast and dinner. And you can have a full dinner in the lounge. 4 items for laundry each day for Club guests.
Club service was good, but for a couple of days it was REALLY good. I went to breakfast one day and was very nicely greeted by about 5 different managers and 5 more staff. I think the GM was there too. I guessed there was some sort of IHG management meeting going on and indeed there was! But I think the lower level IHG people did not have club access so that left just a few of the big shots, one of whom complained out loud about how empty the club was. For a couple of mornings I had a level of service only seen at starred Michelin restaurants. But then they left and it went back to normal.
Did you receive a welcome gift?
Fruit.
How was the minibar?
Big problem here as they claim that RA's do not have free mini-bar. Sort of. There is a fridge with a few drinks that are included for everyone. The only alcohol items are a can of Tsingtao and a can of Heineken and some soft and fruit drinks. That's it. Meanwhile the drawer with the spirits and wine is off limits to RA's!
What was good and what was bad?
-Good
Excellent new hardware
Great location
Humidfier/air cleaner inside the suite and outside in the hallway ^
-Bad
RA minibar benefit is missing here.
Value for RMB or Priority Club Points?
Yes